The gaming industry has a communications problem that is particularly acute here in Canada. In addition to being regulated, gaming in Canada is “conducted and managed” by provincial governments, including in some cases owning and operating properties, as well as online.
This co-mingling of the roles and responsibilities of oversight, regulation and management has led to a tentativeness of governments to demonstrate the value of the gaming industry, and worse, ceding the field to those espousing strong anti-gaming sentiments that allows fears, misapprehensions and out-and-out falsehoods to be presented as unchallenged “facts.” Or, as Kellyanne Conway would put it “alternative facts.”

We’ve all read and heard “tax on the poor,” trap for the addicted,” “magnet for loan sharks, prostitutes and organized crime,” and the like. Worst is the conflation of the severe and real effects that compulsive gambling cause for the very few so affected as being community wide.

If a defense is mounted at the political level, it is lukewarm at best. To quote a former premier – “There is no doubt about it, we have come to rely on gambling revenues. Perhaps in a better world we wouldn’t.”

What a great message for the more than 128,000 people directly employed in good paying jobs across the country, including the people working in the crown agencies. These are hard working upstanding people supporting families and contributing to their communities.

It’s time for gaming to be de-stigmatized, much like alcohol was. There was a time when the purchase and consumption of alcohol was regarded as unsavory and a moral failure. Now that’s all changed. Alcohol is seen as an integral part of adult social activities. What it’s all about now is taking personal responsibility, and if you drink, don’t drive. We need to foster the same sort of public attitude and opinion towards gaming.

And that starts with the politicians. They have to stop apologizing for what is a legitimate and popular form of entertainment that raises very significant non-tax revenues to fund key government programs and charitable programs and initiatives. They need to catch up with their constituents who see it as an entertainment option analogous to going to a hockey game or the theatre and dinner. They need to realize that people who enjoy gaming are their friends and neighbours, not moral failures.

It’s time to change the political strategy – to shake off the Victorian attitudes and opinions and embrace the reality of a robust entertainment industry that does immeasurably more good than harm, and communicate the facts.